


By The Lake

by HectateHufflepuff



Series: By the Lake [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: College AU, F/M, Fluff, Gen, M/M, angsty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-04
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-06 08:01:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8741644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HectateHufflepuff/pseuds/HectateHufflepuff
Summary: Nico di Angelo and his sister Hazel Levesque have moved into college early, ready to begin their Freshman year. Under the close watch of Hazel and his roommate Jason, will this be the year Nico breaks out of his reserved shell, or will the past finally catch up with him? Will he learn to trust his new friends Will and Reyna, or will he isolate himself again? Only time can tell... It's not like college has a way of surprising you at every new turn- after all, Nico can't avoid the world when his Jason leaves their bedroom door propped open, so the whole world can come and pester them!





	1. Dawn Breaks

Nico first noticed him because he fell asleep before shutting his curtains. For various reasons, Nico had an utterly destroyed sleeping pattern, which left him fighting his yawns at lunch and being wide awake at 3am. Today, however, he had clearly let his guard down. After a celebratory family meal out for the beginning of a new school year- at the only Italian restaurant in town where Nico could actually bear to order pizza, no less- and with his sister Hazel keeping him company, he felt full, warm and safe. It had been a while since that had last happened. So, when Nico flopped down on his college bed, intending to just plug his phone in to charge, his body betrayed him and he sank into unconsciousness.

But alas, the curtains. He hadn’t shut the curtains, and on this fine September morning, dawn breaking still packed a bit of a punch. Gently illuminating the campus room, with two beds, two desks and two lamps organised symmetrically, you gained very few personal insights into the occupants of the room, but truth be told they weren’t fully moved in yet. Woken by the sunlight, Nico grudgingly rolled off the bed and stood up in one fluid movement, and after a couple of steps was reaching out for the curtain already. That is when Nico first noticed him. It was a figure, sat on a bench by the lake on campus, just watching dawn break. The semester technically hadn’t begun yet, so Nico was pretty surprised to see someone else looking like they were ready to get stuck in to a lecture. Also, it was early morning. Why, exactly, was he up? The Mystery Male had a big orange coat on, and under the bench a pair of huge walking boots were tapping out a rhythm on the muddy ground, but Nico wasn’t close enough to see much more than that. Nico decided not to think about it for much longer, but as he began to pull the curtains shut, the man brushed a hand through a mop of blonde hair, and pushed up off the bench, as if to set off. Nico firmly pulled the curtains shut and looked at his watch. 6:04 am. If you know you aren’t going to get back to sleep, you might as well unpack, right?

(Not that unpacking three boxes and a suitcase takes long.)

 

Compared to his roommate Jason, Nico didn’t own a great deal. He didn’t have any posters on the wall, his duvet cover was a jet black and there were relatively few trinkets and keepsakes about. Two shelves above Nico’s bed were dedicated to textbooks he was likely to hardly use- not because he wasn’t studious, but because the course moderators liked to spread set reading out over as many textbooks as possible, for maximum cost and minimum textbook use- and with one storage box dedicated to holding anything technology based. As Nico unpacked these contents from the first box, he heard two distant muffled thumps- someone had entered his accommodation block, and had gone upstairs, letting two sets of doors slam shut. Nico briefly wondered if the blonde boy lived upstairs, seen as he was the only person that had been up and in the immediate vicinity. Then Nico decided he’d have enough blonde boys to irritate him once Jason arrived back at campus, and so returned to unpacking ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ and ‘Chemistry: The Practical Science’.

 

On his third shelf he placed a large photo frame that held various different pictures; a gift from his Father to remind him of family. Nico much preferred to look at a handful of stones and pebbles he placed in front of the photo frame instead- Hazel loved geology, and often spent time browsing any beach or lake she could get near for different rocks and fossils that she could find. Personally, Nico’s favourite was the nugget of Fool’s Gold she had gifted him one day. “Sometimes, the things of little monetary value are the most beautiful things we can acquire,” she had asserted, pressing the nugget into his palm. She was one of the only people that could touch Nico. “Sometimes,” Nico had responded, “the things we find most beautiful in our life turn out to be disposable and worthless to us, despite the sacrifices you made trying to get it; and despite the pain panning for it led to. But thanks.” Hazel had just rolled her eyes, but she had smiled a little, really. Next to the pebbles were an old toy Bianca had given him, and despite the heartache it gave Nico to look at it, he kept it there like a shrine. An old toy, of infinite value. Like a spattering of pebbles, from a dozen fantastic places, all chosen with love and for free.

 

Nico’s fourth shelf was empty.


	2. The Roommate Arrives

Jason was due back any minute now. Nico knew this because Jason texted Nico every time he had a chance. Nico knew that Jason had helped his girlfriend Piper unload her boxes from the car, but they had gone their separate ways not long after, and Jason was getting ready to move in himself now. He told Nico when the secretary gave him his keys for the dorm room. He had texted Nico when he’d parked his car. He’d texted Nico what he was buying from the dining hall. (Fair play to Jason, he’d agreed to pick some fries up for Nico too.) Then, just a few minutes ago, Nico had gotten a final text, with Jason saying he was about to drive to the car park closer to their dorm block, so that they didn’t have as far to travel with the few boxes Jason still had left to unpack.

Jason moving in was a complex affair- he lived with his Dad, but his Dad was a bigwig in one of the biggest electricity suppliers in America that spent most of his time away from the family home, or locked away in the study of the family home. So, Jason had driven to Nico’s house the week before, and dropped off some stationary and basic bits that Nico had brought with him to college- they were the only things on Jason’s side of the room, as it currently stood. Then, Jason drove to his girlfriend’s family home, where he had lived intermittently over summer, and they had gotten all the daily essentials ready for college- comforters and throws, clothes, and pictures. Piper was an arty girl, and she loved photo collages and hand-drawn illustrations to make her dorm room feel more homely. (One of Piper’s old school friends, Rachel, had started selling her artwork even before they had graduated high school, and over the years she had gotten better and better at what she did. Even Nico had a framed, signed illustration of hers, ready to sell when she made it big. It was only a matter of time.)

Nico had wondered if it might be awkward, sharing a room with Jason when Piper came around. But Jason was a year above Nico, and he’d had his time as a freshman. Jason could stay with Piper and leave Nico alone in the room, and Piper’s roommate Annabeth could go into her boyfriend Percy’s room, because Percy’s roommate Grover was always off in some field somewhere anyway. Nico didn’t know a great deal about Grover, despite the whole gang making plans to spend time at Percy’s dorm room this year.  
And anyway, Nico never thought about the dating situation. Or rather, he tried not to think about it, but it haunted him anyway. It was like trying not to see your own shadow. Nico found it was best to dress in black and stand in darkened spaces, and his shadow blended into his surroundings. Almost. It made it easier to bear.  
Just the idea of love was making Nico feel anxious, and he felt his heart rate increase and his limbs tremble and his body go cold as his thoughts turned to-  
A thump against the door, a key turning in the lock, and Jason had saved Nico once again.

Mr. Muscleman had attempted to carry four boxes into the flat, but had dropped one in the hallway. Jason leaned over his bed, unceremoniously dumped the remaining three onto the bare mattress, spun round, and grinned at Nico. Nico stared back, until he couldn’t help but crack a small grin. With a playful punch on the shoulder, Jason said, “There’s a suitcase with your name on it, in my car. It’s waiting for you to carry it up here for me.”

“Over my dead body,” Nico replied, but he pushed himself off his bed to help Jason anyway.

 

They caught up on the past week as Nico nibbled at his fries, and as Jason alternated between wolfing down huge bites of a sandwich and pushing his clothes into drawers. Piper’s Dad had hosted a pool party, and Ryan Reynolds had turned up, because Piper’s dad was only Tristan Mclean, the equally super-famous actor. The only trouble with having Ryan Reynolds at your pool party, Jason confided, was that he made you feel physically inferior when you were just trying to have a good time. You were just trying to sip on a cocktail whilst alcohol was actually accessible, then you saw his washboard abs. Nico decided not to comment. The soccer fraternity was having a house party the coming weekend, and if Jason was going then Nico was welcome to. Piper’s latest quiet protest had been leaving a sticker reading “Have an ‘ice day! The polar bears aren’t!” outside a zoo they had driven past, somewhere. Honestly, Nico had zoned out a bit after the first few minutes. Extroverts gave you a lot of information. (Jason wasn’t even an extrovert, Nico knew this. Nico was just such a silent brand of introvert, such a whisper in the wind, Jason seemed like a foghorn in comparison.) No, Nico hadn’t met any of the neighbours, and yes, he had left the dorm room. He’d only seen the one guy walking about, and he’d only heard someone come into the dorms once. No, Nico wasn’t that curious to find out who it had been.

Jason was, though. “Maybe he’s international. Don’t they move in early?”

“Maybe a pre-med, or med,” Nico offered. “They’re intense. Might have moved in early, ready to prep.”

“True…” Mused Jason. “We’ll find out eventually.”

Nico supposed they would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to stop myself from writing chips, when it's fries in America. I also realised it was strange for Jason to have stuff in the dorm room already when he didn't have his keys yet- ah, the joys and challenges of writing a multiple-chapter piece of fiction, without planning ahead haha!  
> Any comments, opinions and constructive criticism would be very much appreciated- sorry that this is a bit of a filler piece! I can't wait until Nico and Will meet!


	3. Doorways

The first couple of weeks passed in a blur of frantic mayhem and first meetings. Somehow, even though second years weren’t supposed to do Fresher’s week, Percy, Jason, Piper and Annabeth had all gotten tickets for some freshmen induction events, and of course they knew where all the good parties would be, and so they dragged Nico to all the same things. He didn’t join many societies under the pretence that he didn’t want to be hazed, but really he didn’t want to be sociable. Week two was specifically for all the second years, so Nico got dragged to all of those events too, alongside his studies. He finally met Leo, a close friend of Jason’s, and Grover, who finally convinced Nico to sign up to Eco Society. (Nico figured he could tell Hazel he had joined a society, but he didn’t actually have to go to any of the meets. He could just sit by the lake for a bit and sort his trash into recyclables and non-recyclables. Easy. Thanks, Grover.) Nico hadn’t really drunk alcohol before, and he didn’t much for the parties he found himself at. He appreciated that nobody pushed his boundaries, either, and tried to give him more. Percy and Jason had early starts for Swim team and Running team respectively, Piper did what she felt like, and Annabeth wanted a clear head for her 9am lectures, so Nico didn’t stand out too much among them.

More and more people moved into their dorms, too. Nico had met a Cecil one night, and a Miranda was somewhere a few floors up. Nico hadn’t seen the guy by the lake yet. (Not that he was looking.) A few people in his classes were nice, too, though Nico only spoke to them because of ‘friendship exercises’ every class did, so people got to know each other better. “My favourite film is The Nightmare Before Christmas, my favourite colour is black, and I was born outside of the USA.” When he said he grew up in Italy, he would invariably have to mutter out a few lines of Italian; but because most of the time nobody else could actually speak Italian, he would tell them something nonsensical such as “I keep 12 horses in an underground bunker ready for the apocalypse…” was actually “It was awesome to talk to you for the first time, I can’t wait to spend the year together!” If his intonation was happy, nobody questioned what he said. It was the most fun Nico had had since arriving at college. Hazel would’ve found it funny once it was explained to her, though she’d pretend to disapprove. Out of all the people in the world, Hazel was one of the only ones to understand him, and wouldn’t judge. She was the most fiercely loyal little sister Nico could’ve asked for. Bianca wouldn’t have needed the Italian translating- she would’ve cooed and gone along with the prank, a teasing big sister if there ever was one. Only briefly did Nico speak Italian in public, but he practised in private, because it was when he felt closest to Bianca, and he could never let that go. Sometimes, Jason had walked in on Nico muttering gently in Italian, but he had never asked why, and never pushed for translations- Nico knew that, and appreciated how in-tune his roommate truly was to sensitive subjects. Little did Nico know, though, because Jason had literally not told a soul, that Nico sounded like he spoke in Italian in his sleep sometimes, too. And as much as the curiosity killed Jason, he always let it slide.

So time passed, and the crazy world of college gathered a routine, and everyone forgot the details of their old life. Homesickness didn’t bother Nico- nobody Nico missed was at home. Hazel’s boyfriend Frank went to a college local to him, and Hazel lived in Frank’s family home because Frank's grandmother couldn’t care less either way. Percy missed his mum but he didn’t let it slow him down much- though, he had a weekend bag packed in his wardrobe, ready for getting the call that his baby sister was about to be born. Annabeth got on with her Dad now, but she’d had her phases and had ran away in her younger years. Piper’s Dad was always busy, Leo never talked about home and was only at college through engineering scholarships and Jason’s Dad was too busy working, so nobody went home at the weekends. Instead, they’d all pile into each others' dorm rooms and have movie nights or sleepovers or pizza nights- or Annabeth would host study nights- and life would be pretty chilled out. Nico had bought a fuzzy black beanbag that he’d lug about, and he could flop down on it in comfort and with some personal space. What more could he need?

It was after an impromptu movie night that Leo left his laptop in Jason and Nico’s room. He came to collect it the morning after, whilst Jason cooling down after a jog. Still very groggy after being woken up by Jason- just for this mammoth task of taking the laptop to Leo, no less- Nico met Leo by the entrance to Nico’s accommodation block. Leo was constantly fidgeting and Nico was falling asleep into the collar of his thick black dressing gown. Handing over the laptop went smoothly enough, but as Leo walked off, he dropped his charger and didn’t hear Nico yelling at him to pick it up. (Maybe that had something to do with how whispery Nico’s voice went after sleeping, or not talking for long stretches. Not that Nico would admit it. “After all, if you never use your voice, you lose it,” as Bianca used to say. What would Bianca think of Nico now? He didn’t linger on that thought for too long.) So, his mind muddled from the lack of sleep, Nico stepped out of the doorway and picked up the charger, jogged briefly over Leo and hit him with it.  
“Thanks!” Said Leo gratefully, but then his eyes shifted from Nico to the door, which had thumped shut as it locked Nico out. Nico closed his eyes and tried to breathe slowly, to not get stressed out.

“I’m super sorry, but I genuinely have class now,” Leo winced, hopping form foot to foot. “Jason will let you back in, right?”  
Nico made a noise of affirmation, waved off Leo, and, on reaching the main door, gave it two loud kicks.  
Jason will be in the shower now, said a voice in Nico’s head. Shut up or make a useful contribution, said another voice. Nico sighed, kicking the door once more, but with not too much effort, because he only had slippers on so it genuinely hurt his foot. A flash of blond appeared, and Nico’s spirits rose- Jason had heard. What a good pal Jason was! Nico could go back to bed! Alas, it was not to be. The door opened, but as the door-opener stood to the side for Nico to come in, Nico noticed a flash of orange so bright it actually hurt his eyes.

“Walk of shame, huh? First time I’ve seen it in a dressing gown.” The voice was taunting, but definitely in a friendly way, not cruel. It was a warm voice. Nico blinked in confusion, and also to try restoring vision after looking at the coat. The stranger interpreted Nico’s silence differently. “Only joking, no offense meant!” Nico looked up, and the stranger flashed a quick smile. It was a warm smile, too. “Though I do hope it wasn’t a smoking break,” the stranger continued, “because cigarettes are pretty bad for you.”

Nico just blinked again, and sidestepped the stranger with the cute smile.

“I only smoke when I’m consuming vast amounts of alcohol and illegal substances, so no worries there,” Nico deadpanned, and the stranger blushed. The heat in the stranger’s cheeks emphasized a splatter of freckles across his face, and his bright blue eyes, but Nico didn’t know why he noticed that. (Of course he knew why he noticed. Never mind. Moving on.)

After a moment’s hesitation, the stranger from the lake stuck out his hand, and blurted, “Will Solace. Pre-med. Great to meet you, I’m on floor 2.”

Nico nodded in response, and murmured, “Nico di Angelo. Sleepy. That room over there,” nodding at his and Jason’s door. “Thanks for letting me in.”

“You’re very welcome,” Will said, with a tilt of his head. “Maybe I’ll see you around?”

“Maybe,” confirmed Nico, as he headed into his room. “Maybe you will.”

Will watched the door fall shut as he pretended to be untangling his headphones. He didn’t really know why he was stood in the entrance of the accommodation block for so long, but he suspected it was something to do with the bed head Nico had been rocking. Heaving a backpack onto one shoulder, Will shook off the brief encounter, and got in the mindset for revision at the library. He thought of chemical equations and mathematical formulae and literature critics, but not of sleepy dark-haired boys in fluffy dressing gowns that got locked out of accommodation blocks. He tried not to think of those at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first meeting! I just love Solangelo so much. They are my relationship goals, tis true. Thank you so much for the comments that have been left so far, it means the world to me! Sorry for the delay with posting this chapter, I started university myself this September and I had a lot of essays to be in for the last couple of weeks before Christmas. Hopefully over my Christmas holidays, I'll be posting much more regularly. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, thanks for reading! :) <3


	4. Hot Chocolate

College was hard, but Nico was coping. Jason helped him with work he didn't understand, or Annabeth would drop in and give her own lectures on topics, but mostly Nico understood and avoided asking for help. Teachers had often called Nico bright, a clever boy, and he had been relatively successful in elementary school. Then Bianca happened- "extenuating circumstances", as everyone else liked to call the years following Bianca- and it had been a credit to Nico that he had made it into college at the same time as his peers. That's what everyone called him- a credit to the family. Nico wasn't so sure himself, because it was mostly people outside of the family that said that.

 

But still, Nico was in college, and he was doing okay. Miranda from upstairs was in his Literature class, and she was nice enough to talk to. Cecil was always playing pranks on the block by breaking into people's post-boxes in the accommodation entrance and either swapping around people's mail, leaving post-it notes in post-boxes, or by cello-taping the post boxes themselves shut so there was always mail lying about that you had to double check. When it wasn't Nico's locker being tampered with, Nico found it hilarious. (One couple had gotten together after Cecil discovered they were crushing on each other, and so he swapped their mail about every morning, in order to make them talk to each other daily. Miranda had told Nico about it one English lesson, but he couldn't remember the names of the couple. Something like Serena, Silena? Beckendorf? They seemed cute enough together.) Mostly people found Nico to be a bit of an oddball, quiet but harmless, and they made small talk with him, which was fine by Nico. The world could just brush past him, and he wouldn't care too much. He got all the human contact he needed with Jason and Co., and his weekly FaceTimes with Hazel and Frank. (Honestly, he did.) 

 

Trying to stay on top of his health was something novel to Nico too, but he was doing it, if not just for Hazel's sake. The canteen food was pretty good, better than the food Nico used to cook for himself, so his appetite was gradually growing. Occasional jogs with Jason challenged Nico, and he'd taken a liking to Fencing Society, of all things. Nobody talked- you just put on your mask and tried to jab people with your foil. (Okay, some people talked more than others...) Even just fencing warm-ups were surprisingly difficult- for the first trial, Nico had been wearing black skinnies. Not the thing for "sprint, jump, sprint, touch the ground, sprint" style exercises. He'd learned from that experience, to say the least.

 

He'd also learned about parties, a little bit more, over the first couple of months at university. He'd tried different types of alcohol and had solid opinions on the stuff- he already knew wine was intolerable, but gin wasn't too smart, vodka had to be diluted too much, and ciders were only nice when they were fruity, which apparently people found funny when Nico drank. Hey, he liked Strawberry and Pomegranate cider- just because it's pink and Nico was known to wear exclusively black. Apparently people didn't take him for a fruit cider kind of guy. Nico had drunk a little too much though, twice, and he was beginning to realize that it wasn't too good for the persona he had built.

 

The first time, he'd been at a house party, and he'd gotten to the point where you feel like nothing can touch you, nothing can bring you down. Except, Jason, Leo and Percy kept laughing in Nico's direction for some reason- and in his drunken state, all the careless things Percy did just aggravated Nico, but Nico could never explain why to anyone- and it was just getting tiring. Heading outside for some fresh air, to get his head straight, it didn't take long for Nico to understand. Some girl followed him outside- she'd been trying to chat him up, catch his attention, whatever. Nico's stomach dropped. When the girl- Nico sent off a prayer to whatever gods were listening, thanking them that he didn't even recognize her, he mustn't know her- tried to even just stand beside him, Nico flinched and jumped back. He liked personal space. She looked accepting of Nico's reaction, nodding her head in understanding and without making a fuss, but then she brushed down her shirt in a gesture Nico recognized all too well. Humiliated rejection with a side-portion of embarrassment. Even through Nico's muddled brain, he felt pretty guilty, and the best excuse he could think of was gesturing towards his throat and saying, "Sorry! Don't wanna... Feel like throwing up, not gunna lie." Looking relieved at his honestly, she hesitated for barely seconds before running back inside, and Nico felt both better about himself and worse. He'd saved insulting a perfectly nice girl at a party, but he'd lied again. To her, to himself, to everyone.

 

Which brought him to the second time- just a quiet night in with the squad in his and Jason's room, but with a little bit of beer. He hadn't gotten so drunk since the incident with the girl, because he'd decided he needed some clarity to his thoughts, so he could react properly in the future. Or stop it from happening in the first place. Because now, everyone was convinced something had happened. Nothing major, but now Jason and the usual squad all thought Nico had kissed her, and the truth was killing him inside. Who gets to college and hasn't had their first kiss? Every time the topic came up, Leo would make up stories about more and more beautiful ex-girlfriends of his; Jason and Piper would just smile at each other, all smitten, and cuddle; and *every time*, without fail, Percy would talk about that summer camp with Annabeth, with a kiss and a lake they were thrown into, and the beginning of the rest of Percy's life. Annabeth, Annabeth, Annabeth. The worst part is, she was lovely. Nico absolutely couldn't dislike her. But he certainly could be jealous of her.

 

So on the second night, when the teasing piped up again and Nico couldn't stand to hear one more tale about true love and first kisses, he just got up off his fluffy black bean bag and walked out of the room. Just before the door shut, he noticed the silence leaking from the room, the sudden realization of the group that at some point, one of the jokes had gone a little too far. But by the time they'd gotten up to the door, Nico was long gone. He'd gone to be alone by the lake, the only lake action Nico had ever gotten. It was dark but the moon was out fully, so Nico just about navigated to a scattering of trees, with a bench in front of them facing the lake. Flopping down, he took several deep breaths, but it barely controlled the trembling that had overcome him. The few tears Nico could cry were mostly of anger, over the whole damn situation, and could be brushed away with one touch of a jumper. It was only after wiping away one last tear, taking a breath in then looking up at the lake, did Nico notice someone else by the lake. Now staring at him.

 

Perched on a tiny jetty on the lake was Will, of all people. "What time d'ya call this?" Murmured Will, his voice easily carrying in the quiet of the midnight air.

"Sad time," countered Nico. "And you?"

"Ah," he announced, "I call this the time my Auntie is likely to be working, what with her being an astronomer and all."

"Alright then. That cleared things up." Will laughed, and Nico felt his shoulders lose some of their tension. Just slightly.

"Sorry. I've been stressed with exams. I can't ring my auntie right now because she's at work, but she loves looking at the moon and stars. She told me, before I came here, if I wanted some company..." Will pointed at the full moon. "She's out there looking at that moon, right now, just like us. It just calms me down a bit." Will picked himself up, and carefully sat on the far end of Nico's bench. Sitting bolt upright, Nico felt his shoulders tensing up again, but Will made no move to shuffle any closer- just lounged on his corner of the bench like that had been his evening plan all along- and Nico didn't even feel himself gradually relaxing again, over the course of the conversation. "So how about you, Mr. Gloom and Doom? Why is this your sad hour?" Nico just breathed for a second, before he sighed.

"Nobody gets me and I'll be alone forever. The usual teen angst." Gesturing at Will, Nico asked, "Why are you so stressed about exams, anyway? It's only the first year." 

Will nodded, hugging himself for warmth. "Pre-med."

"They're training you up to be superhuman already?" Nico teased, gently. (Where was this confidence coming from? And how is Will so open and responsive all the time, even when he's talking to Mr. Gloom and Doom?) "You learning everything about anything, and memorizing the mark schemes?" Will laughed. It was quiet for a few minutes. The cold had sobered Nico right up, and Will could sense that from the evasive answers he'd been given so far, any more probing into Nico's discreet crying episode would do more harm than good. So instead, Will said, "Fancy a warm drink at mine?" Nico tried to keep his expression neutral, but Will rabbited on obliviously. "You're totally going to freeze to death out here, otherwise. Coffee helps after alcohol- and don't deny you've had some, you non-law abiding citizen; but I've got hot chocolate and tea too. And peppermint tea. A herbal hug, I call it."

Despite himself, Nico laughed. "A hot chocolate doesn't sound too bad, right now," He admitted, grudgingly. "Seen as I cleverly left without a coat." Will beamed, and Nico's stomach flipped, for some reason. (Please, not that reason. It just needs some hot chocolate to settle it. Definitely. That's all that's going on here.)

"Awesome!" Will declared. "My flatmate Cecil"- he actually blushed here, and wrung his hands- "has... acquired some board games and stuff from a few bars recently. They're kinda cheesy but it's funny to de-stress with." Nico quirked an eyebrow up, suddenly feeling bolder than usual. "I know Cecil. He's cool. And just a guess- will my hot chocolate be served in a stolen mug, too?"

"Maybe."

And just like that, Nico's night wasn't so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. So. Any comments and feedback would be absolutely amazing, this was the chapter I've been least confident with, in terms of writing style as well as with content. I realize I've been super-angsty with Nico, and that makes me sad because he's literally one of my all-time favourite characters, but it won't be like that forever..! (Ngl though, I plan this literally as I write each chapter so it's a surprise for me each time I write it. This chapter was originally totally different, but then I just wrote what I felt like!) Also I personally reaaaally disliked the message I thought I was sending keeping Nico closeted for now; but similarly to how I'm trying to only use characters from the book and generally adapt themes/ events in the original series, I wanted to stay true to how -spoiler alert for HOH?- both Jason and Piper assumed Nico had a crush on Annabeth rather than Percy, and that was the feeling I wanted to give here. (I don't like Nico being sad either... :((() Also- an announcement on consent I also wanted to address after this chapter- no means no, and 'no' doesn't need to be justified! That being said, in the scenario with Nico, I just literally couldn't imagine him (in this fanfic, or even in Riordan's universe) straight up rejecting someone without saying why, especially if it kind of upsets them. I feel like he'd do the "it's not you, it's me" thing, because of his 1940s upstanding morals haha. And sorry for any generally American info I get wrong- I base a lot of Nico and co.'s college experiences off my English University experience, but then I try and tone down the drinking! >.< (I spend year 3 of my degree over in America I'm sooo excited ngl, I'm only a 1st year lol.) ANYWAY I think that's it lol, sorry for the superlong footnote :''''( Hope you enjoyed! Please kudos, and all comments are appreciated! <3 much love, and Happy Holidays everyone! It's a quiet Christmas for me this year!


	5. The Wanderers Return Home

The others had backed off Nico considerably since the night he stormed off and hadn’t returned until the early hours of the next morning. They had apparently agreed to give it 10 hours, and if nobody saw him in that time, then the time to panic would have arrived. (Especially with Nico’s given track record.) It had been 4am when Nico finally dragged himself back to a dorm room after a heated game of Monopoly; Jason sat on his bed waiting up, feeling guilty and with an anxious look on his face.

“Would’ve thought Piper would still be here waiting with you,” Nico muttered.

“She thought you’d want the space, but she was worried about you. We all were really worried, Nico. What happened? Where have you been?”

“What happened was I decided I needed some space, and I was…” Nico swallowed. “I was with a friend I met recently. We bumped into each other and I spent some time with him and his roommate.”

“Oh, really? And what are their names?” Jason's tone was sharp and a little too much like a parental figure for Nico's liking.

“Will and Cecil!” Nico yelled. “Not that it’s any of your business!” He grabbed his washbag, stormed into the bathroom and took his newfound frustration out on his teeth by brushing them relatively aggressively. He paced up and down the bathroom for a little bit longer, switched on an empty shower and jumped out quickly, closing his eyes and trying to calm down by pretending he was listening to rainfall. Miserable things like that eased his stress, sometimes. Sad but true. Finally, Nico headed back to his room again, and threw himself into bed straight away.

“I’m sorry,” said Jason softly. “I didn’t doubt you were making different friends here.” Bolstered by the lack of a retaliation, he murmured, “We love you and we worry, Nico. Piper cried, she felt so bad.”

“I just don’t want to talk about that night anymore,” Nico confessed. “Nothing happened. Nothing bad, but nothing good. You can all just forget about it.”

“Okay. I’ll let them know.” Jason climbed into bed, after switching off the lights. Nico was facing the wall with his back to Jason, and the glow of his mobile illuminated his silhouette. Quickly, he fired off a brief message of thanks to Piper, a brief message to say he was safe and that he hoped she was okay. A minute later, Jason’s phone chimed and he fumbled to mute it, but after a few moments silence, he said, “Thank you, Nico.”

“S’alright.” Nico rolled over; but stared into the darkness where the ceiling would be until the day broke, despite Jason’s breathing eventually levelling out, and until Jason’s own alarm went off and the world began to stir again. Only then did Nico fitfully sleep.

When everyone first saw Nico again at 6pm, they seemed edgy around him, as if afraid to set him off again- but the more people talked, the more relaxed the conversation became, until the atmosphere felt more comfortable. And, it seemed to Nico, everyone had got the memo. Even Leo. (Miracles could happen.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hazel, in their weekly Facetime sometime in early November (the week of the Night At The Lake, as Nico might recall later), seemed off-beat and a little nervous. Usually, Hazel was one of the few people that were open with Nico in a way that he could respond appropriately, and so to have her seeming anxious was pretty off-putting for Nico.

“So,” said Nico, gesturing at his phone, trying to be relaxed but instead dropping it. “Oh hang on a sec. Anyway. So, are you okay? You seem distracted.”

Hazel seemed pleased for a moment, like she was about to compliment Nico on his growing social skills, but then she remembered the topic of conversation and her face was wiped of all obvious emotion once again. Other than the nervous shuffling about. “Well. Uh, well…” Nico waited for a few seconds, and Hazel just said what she was thinking outright. She was good at that, thought Nico. He appreciated that about her. “I was considering staying at Frank’s house this Christmas. But I don’t want to leave you alone with Dad. I’d feel too bad.” She hesitated and her eyes flickered off-screen for a second, as if she was watching something in the space behind her phone.

“Hi Frank.”

“Hi, Nico.” A tall, buff silhouette leaned over and settled on a sofa seat, squished up next to Hazel. “You telling him?”

“Just about to,” Hazel smiled, but he could tell she was still trying to read Nico’s silence from the way her head was angled, worriedly. “But cos we know what a Christmas alone with Dad and the Queen and the Queen’s overbearing mother would be like,” Frank laughed and put his arm around Hazel at this point, “well, we were wondering if you’d also like to stay with us this Christmas. Or maybe for Thanksgiving.”

“Or as another option,” Frank offered, “if you weren’t sure about it, I could come to you for Christmas. I mean, your Dad might kick off if nobody comes home for Christmas, but we would’ve gotten married super-quickly- so he either could complain about the secret marriage instead, or so we could be a married couple not needing to visit your dad at Christmas.”

“You’d have been invited to the secret wedding…” Hazel said solemnly, and Nico couldn’t help but burst out laughing at the thought of it all. Frank’s grouchy Grandmother organizing a buffet for the wedding reception; Hazel and Frank in a quick country marriage over in Canada; Frank’s Grandmother dragging Frank, Hazel and Nico out to see the nearest buried relative in a show of respect; Hazel and Nico’s Dad being furious that Nico knew and he didn’t; Persephone ironically bringing up Hades’ rage at a secret wedding “when they are just copying their dad- didn’t he have secret kids outside of the marriage?” (On reflection, sassy Persephone wasn’t too bad, decided Nico.)

“I’d be happy to sort something like that out!” Agreed Nico. Hazel beamed, and Frank hugged her tightly. “Yeah, you know how I feel about being there at Christmas. I’ll go there at Thanksgiving and slouch about loads so they’ll get fed up of me and won’t want me about at Christmas, so then I can spend Christmas with you guys.” Frank winked and Hazel was clapping her hands together.

“Sounds great!” She said. “I can’t wait!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These were two filler chapters but I wrote them in the wrong order lol so I'm glad I didn't upload them separately now haha! They just feel better smushed together as a big chapter, but anyway yeah that's why there's a big ~~~~ across the page at one point, as you probably guessed! Hope it still reads okay. And if not, then I hope technically having two chapters in one makes up for it a bit! :P ^.^ More Solangelo next chapter, that will hopefully flesh out my AU a little more...  
> I also just want to say, thank you so much for reading! As ever, please comment any opinions, thoughts, etc- I love reading all your comments, so another big thank you to everyone who has posted one so far, too!  
> You are ALL absolute cuties!
> 
> Also- I'm over on twitter at @HectateHuffPuff if anyone has twitter, feel free to say hi! :D

**Author's Note:**

> I'm English but I'm doing my best to read up on the American college system- sorry if there are any mistakes! Please leave comments, opinions and constructive criticism- this could well become a long-running piece if there are people who would be interested in reading more!


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